But Right
by selenehekate
Summary: Roxie and Lee are perfect for each other... so why does no one else see it? From the beginning, this is their story.
1. Chapter 1

The last time she saw him for a good, long while she was thirteen.

Roxie Weasley had been at her family's Christmas party - the giant, Weasley-Potter extravaganza - and for some odd reason, Lee Jordan was there. It was uncommon for people not related to either a Weasley or a Potter to appear at the party, though not unheard of. Occasionally, Minerva McGonagall or Hagrid would turn up for the festivities at Grimmauld Place and stay simply for Christmas dinner. This was, however, the first time Lee had ever made an appearance.

George and Angelina were quick to usher him over to Harry's table on Christmas day - which Roxie was amused to note that they certainly had no right to do - and Lee ended up situated by the edge and next to her. She didn't mind; Lee had never treated her like an ignorant child, and he was always good for a laugh.

"What brings you here?" Roxie asked after Harry's traditional Christmas toast had taken place. "Don't you generally do the holidays with one of your many girls?"

"Not this year," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm actually... well, leaving the country."

She couldn't stop her brows from going up. "Really, now? Where to?"

"All over the place," he answered with a shrug. Roxie noted that his neck movements were stiff, and she got the impression that he felt distinctly awkward about this line of conversation. "I love to travel. Get out of England."

There was such malice and sorrow in his words that Roxie found herself asking, "Whatever for?"

"Oh, I'll tell you one day, darling. When you're older," he muttered, his voice weak and tired.

This served to do nothing more than annoy Roxie, though. _So much for treating me like an adult,_ she thought as she slid her hands demurely into her lap. "Of course. Perhaps when I'm older, I'll better understand what it feels like to want to run away. Because that's certainly not a juvenile feeling at all."

He blinked, shock registering across his face as he processed her words. "That's not-"

But she cut him off as she stood. "Don't worry, Mr Jordan. Your secret fear is safe with me." Her words could freeze fire, they were so cold. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really should go and sit with my cousins. They don't talk about things that are over my head. In fact, we'll probably play Exploding Snap all throughout dinner." Her voice was dripping with irritation as she added, "how fun."

She stepped away from Lee and joined her cousins at the other end of the table. A quick glance back told her that Lee was still staring after her in shock, and she couldn't be more pleased by the result. Maybe next time, he'd think twice about belittling her.

Of course, Roxie couldn't have known it then, but next time wouldn't occur for another three years.


	2. Chapter 2

She was at Hogsmeade with her cousin, Dominique Weasley, when she saw him again.

They were leaving the bookstore, which they had attended per Roxie's request, when she spotted him from across the street, waving good-bye to a man in a long robe. This was the last place she'd expected to find travel-bound Lee; she was sure her parents would have written if they'd known he was back. Maybe they didn't. Maybe he wasn't really back.

There was only one thing for it. Without consulting Dominique, Roxie stepped past the jean-clad younger students running towards Honeydukes and into the street, towards Lee. Her cousin protested behind her, but she kept walking.

"Well, if it isn't Lee Jordan, back from his European travels," she said, a smirk crossing her face. She still remembered the last time they'd spoken, and she certainly wasn't fond of the way things had ended. "You are back, aren't you?"

Lee, meanwhile, had an incredulous expression plastered on his face as he looked her up and down. "Roxie?" It was as though he barely recognized her.

She had changed in the three years since Lee had left; she knew it. Still, she hadn't thought she'd changed _that _much. After all, her basic appearance was the same: dark, skin that tanned easily, red hair, and brown eyes. Same person, right?

True, her dark red hair had grown thicker, her curls becoming sleeker. Her body had grown more shapely and less childlike, and her intelligent, knowing eyes now matched her maturing face. That wasn't the biggest change in Roxie, though. Now, as a sixth year, she'd grown to be so much more confident in who she was and what she wanted out of life that she carried herself with a swagger that most people her age couldn't meet without seeming pretentious or youthfully ignorant. She had grown immensely. She was a different person.

"Would that be a yes?" Roxie asked, folding her arms over her chest. Her pointer finger traced up her arm, unwittingly drawing attention to her bare skin there. "Are you back? Or just visiting?"

"I'm back," he said. "I'm... you've grown up." He couldn't seem to get past that. Roxie chuckled.

"Good to see you again, Lee," she said, stressing his first name. She watched as his eyebrows raised, and she resisted the urge to chuckle. She refused to call him Mr Jordan any longer. She hated nothing more than when people talked down to her, and she would not show him the respect of addressing him formally because of what he'd said to her last. She wanted him to know that they were equals. She wanted him to know that she demanded to be addressed like the adult she almost was.

"Mr Jordan!" Dominique said, catching up to the pair. "When did you get back?"

"Oh, hello," he said, starting slightly. "Just... just a few days ago."

"A few days, and you still haven't been to see my parents," Roxie said. Her lips were curled into a mocking smile as she said, "They'll be so disappointed with you."

His tone held a note of wonder. "Yes, I imagine so." He gave a shrug of his shoulders and kept his eyes trained on Roxie. "Perhaps I should pay them a visit."

"How was Europe?" Dominique asked. The girl was oblivious to the surprise from Lee and the enjoyment from Roxie. "It must have been awful if you've come home. My mother said that when her sister left England permanently and began to travel, it took her family ten years to convince Gabrielle to come home and start a family."

Dominique was a lovely blonde girl of sixteen - the same age as Roxie - and she was bitingly bubbly. It was, Roxie mused, exactly what one would expect of a normal sixteen year old girl. Nothing special. Nothing unusual for the age group. Not that this was a problem, of course, but given that Lee was in awe of how Roxie had changed in three years, perhaps that spoke volumes as to how little her cousins and her peers had grown up mentally.

"Perhaps it was simply duller than you'd expected," Roxie added, simplifying her cousin's speech.

"Perhaps I'm just done running," Lee said, his voice soft. Roxie's eyes snapped wide at this statement. Sure, their Christmas conversation had been significant in her mind - and in shaping the way that she saw Lee - but she would never have expected that the same could be said for him. He spoke quickly, though, before she or Dominique could comment on his words. "No, Europe was lovely, but I'm just ready for some... consistency."

"So is this permanent?" Roxie asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Fairly," he conceded. "I'm buying a flat."

"Single bedroom?" Roxie teased. "Spare wardrobe for visitors?"

Lee rolled his eyes. "Some things never change."

"Such as your womanizing ways," Roxie shot back. "Do us all a favor and settle down sometime soon."

"Unlikely," he said with a shake of his head. "Especially since the flat I'm buying is fairly unremarkable. Perfect to vacate and rent out at a moment's notice."

"If you and your broads haven't utterly destroyed it, of course," she said before she could censor herself. At Lee's shocked expression, Roxie wondered if she had crossed a line in alluding to his sex life.

Dominique, bless her, hadn't noticed, though. She was still concerned about the details of the flat. "Oh, where?" Dominique asked, clapping her hands together. "London? I've always wanted to live in London. Or the Swindon area is supposed to have a large magical population. Or-"

"Here, actually," he said, interrupting Dominique as she paused for a breath. "Right outside of Hogsmeade."

She made a face. "Scotland? Really?"

"Interesting choice," were Roxie's words on the matter. "Any reason?"

"It's... close to home. It's affordable and should sell fairly quickly if I want to sell it and buy a house. And it reminds me of... a better time," he admitted. His eyes were locked on Roxie as he said this, and he jumped when it was Dominique who spoke next.

"A better time? But it's, like, perfect. Perfect economy, peaceful-"

"I think... I think I get it," Roxie said. For once, her eyes lowered until they were on her feet. "I get it."

"Do you?"

"My dad does," she shot back. And she did understand. She knew he was speaking about the time he was at Hogwarts, prior to the war, with her father and her dead uncle, Fred. She knew he was speaking about Katie, the girl her mother had once confided in her that Lee had loved and even proposed to prior to the final battle. The girl who never made it out of the castle alive.

He was running from their memory - Fred and Katie - and now he was coming home to them. It was sick and twisted, and utterly messed up, but in a way, Roxie understand. She'd watched her father do the same thing on more than one occasion. They were trying to cope with their scars.

Lee was silent as he nodded in response. Though Roxie's focus had drifted from his face, Lee's was still rock solid on Roxie, his eyes studying the girl, scanning back and forth. "Anyway," Roxie said. "We should be going. We have to get back to Hogwarts. But... It was good to see you, Lee. Pay my father a visit. He'll want to know you're back."

"I... I will," he said, his voice gaining strength as he spoke. "I'm sure you'll see a lot more of me now, especially since I'm back in the UK."

"More than never?" Roxie said with a grin. Her eyes slid back to his. "Well, that is certainly an improvement."

For the first time since their encounter, Lee Jordan actually smiled. "Roxie." He nodded towards her cousin. "Dominique. See you two around."

"Indeed," Roxie added with a wink. Instantly, she internally berated herself. _What the bloody hell was that?_ she thought. _Was that really necessary? Now I really do have to get out of here._ Perhaps she felt far too comfortable discussing his past with him if she were in the winking mood. She pressed on, though. "See you, Lee."

"Good-bye, Mr Jordan," Dominique said with a wave as Roxie gripped her elbow and began to pull her away. "What are you doing?" Dominique asked. "What's going on? And why are you calling him Lee?"

Roxie didn't answer, though. She was too busy wondering if perhaps she'd miscalculated how hurt and scared Lee had been three years ago when he'd deflected her innocent questioning with a disparaging remark. Perhaps... perhaps he was still being haunted by ghosts.


End file.
